Smithsonian Gets Seinfeld’s “Puffy Shirt”
By Ken St. Onge
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 – Starting next week, the “puffy shirt” worn by comedian Jerry Seinfeld on his hit show will hang alongside Kermit the Frog and Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“Of all the forms of theater we have in America, what we seem to remember most is situation comedy,” said cultural historian Dwight Bowers addressing an after-hours gathering Thursday to welcome the new donation. “It reminds us of ourselves. of a world that is sometimes more surreal than real.”
Museum director Brent Glass said the piece complemented the museum’s collection because “we tell the story of America here.”
Along with the shirt, which will hang in the museum’s “Icons of Popular Culture” display, the Smithsonian also received an original script of the episode. In it, Seinfeld’s character, after being asked by the “low-talker” girlfriend of his neighbor, Kramer, unwittingly agrees to wear the pirate-like shirt for an appearance on the Today Show.
Seinfeld, on hand to celebrate the donation, reminisced about spending time at the museum before he began acting. He said he drew comedic inspiration from a toothbrush that was “on-loan” from the collection of astronaut Neil Armstrong. “I remember thinking: ‘Come on Neil, Give ’em the toothbrush,’” he said.
“The Smithsonian philosophy is the opposite of mine, which is to throw everything out,” Seinfeld said. “You see, I believe the world is divided into garbage and pre-garbage. Thank you for including me in the world’s greatest collection of pre-garbage.”
